Greata Ranch Estate Winery

This exceptional Chardonnay is the first release since CedarCreek relaunched Greata Ranch as an exclusively super-premium winery. Greata Ranch is a historic tree fruit farm near Peachland that had become derelict until CedarCreek bought it in 1994 and planted vines on about a quarter of the property. Taking advantage of the property’s spectacular lakeside setting, CedarCreek now has begun developing about 500 vineyard residences. The owners of those properties will get first crack at the Greata Ranch wines.

Winemaker Corrie Krehbiel, who was born in Kelowna in 1975, started working on the CedarCreek bottling line while still in high school. Encouraged by CedarCreek’s winemaker, she trained as a winemaker in New Zealand, rejoining CedarCreek in 2002 as an assistant winemaker. She became Greata Ranch winemaker four years later, charged with making only reserve-level wines.

This is an elegant Chardonnay, featuring pristine citrus, tangerine and peach flavours, subtly supported with oak. The texture shows the richness of careful lees aging. There is a lingering finish. The wine is packaged in what might well be a custom mold - heavy Burgundy glass with a punt so deep that the bottle will be a hit at proctologists’ conventions. 90 points.

Reviewed March 19, 2008 by John Schreiner.